1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to swimming pools and the like and more particularly to an improved apparatus and method of rapidly making a swimming pool from readily transportable component materials.
2. Background of the Invention
With the advent of more leisure time, the popularity of swimming pools has increased substantially in the last several decades. In general, swimming pools may be constructed as an in ground pool or as an above ground pools. In an in ground pool, soil is excavated from the pool site and a hardenable material such as a cementitious material is applied to form the bottom and sidewalls of the swimming pool. Examples of in- ground pools are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,759; U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,191 and U.S. Pat. 3,568,392. In a typical above ground pool, the pool site may be excavated and a retaining wall is erected around the perimeter of the excavated pool. A pool liner generally made of a flexible sheet plastic material is affixed to the peripheral wall to cover the excavated hole thus making the pool water tight. An example of an above ground pool is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,501.
Above ground pools are generally less expensive than an in ground pool since the hardenable material forming the bottom and sidewalls of the in ground pool is replaced by a sheet plastic liner. Unfortunately, the vinyl liner of an above- ground pool does not provide the durability since the thin vinyl liner may be cut by a sharp object. Furthermore, the pool liners must be preformed of a particular size or must be fabricated at site thus limiting the shape and size of the swimming pool.
In an effort to reduce the cost of in ground pools, some in the prior art have utilized a plurality of ridged sidewall panels for forming the sidewalls of the in ground pool. U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,780; U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,088; U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,002 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,655 illustrate various ridged sidewall panels for constructing the sidewalls of an in ground swimming pool.
Others in the prior art have attempted to use a rolled sheet material for fabricating the sidewall of a swimming pool. U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,801; U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,346; U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,759; U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,017 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,796 illustrate swimming pools having a sidewall formed from a rolled sheet material. The rolled sheet material was sometimes affixed to the bottom of a cementitious pool base by mechanical means such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,782.
Thereafter, the sidewall and the bottom of the pool was covered by an external coating such as fiberglass or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,085; U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,690; U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,017; U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,772 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,296 all illustrate various external coatings for swimming pools.
Although the aforementioned prior art has contributed substantially to the reduction in cost of construction of swimming pools, the aforementioned prior art has certain disadvantages over a conventional cementitious in ground swimming pool. First, many of the in ground pools having a plurality of ridged sidewall panels had to be constructed in a specific size and shape thus limiting the size and shape of the completed swimming pool. Second, many of the swimming pools and construction techniques utilizing rolled material lacked the proper mechanical strength and sealing properties equivalent to a cementitious in ground swimming pool. Third, the external coating applied to the sidewalls of the swimming pools did not properly adhere to the sidewall material thus enhancing the possibility of the delamination of the external coating from the sidewall material. Such a delamination is totally unsatisfactory to a purchaser making a substantial investment of a swimming pool. Fourth, the use of a plurality of ridged sidewall panels or the use of the rolled sidewall materials were incapable of providing entrance steps for the pool. Accordingly the entrance steps for the pool were required to be manufactured in an conventional manner.
In my prior invention set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,162, the swimming pool utilized a sidewall made of polyethylene. Polyethylene, is inexpensive and offered flexibility desirable in the construction of swimming pools. However, polyethylene suffers from two major disadvantages. First, polyethylene did not allow the sprayed fiberglass coating to adhere well. To ensure good adhesion, holes were inserted in the sidewall, and both the interior and exterior surfaces were sprayed with fiberglass. As a result, the two surfaces would be affixed to one another at the holes, thus ensuring a secure fiberglass lamination on the polyethylene.
The second disadvantage which resulted from the use of a polyethylene sidewall was that the structural strength of polyethylene was insufficient without additional support. To overcome this drawback, and to ensure sufficient structural strength, it was necessary to mount horizontal supports to the exterior surface, and spray horizontal supports with fiberglass.
In order to have access to the rear surface to accomplish this spraying, and thus solve these two problems, the earth to the rear of the sidewall had to be over-excavating beyond what otherwise would be necessary. After the fiberglass had been sprayed on the exterior surface, the over-excavation was refilled. This process suffered from the disadvantage of increased material and labor costs over what a single interior coating would require.
The present invention ensures sufficient adhesion of the fiberglass and sufficient strength of the sidewall so as to allow for the elimination of the holes, horizontal supports and rear spraying, thus minimizing excavation required, and reducing labor and material costs, while improving quality.
Furthermore, in my prior invention, the upright supports comprised wooden stakes buried in the ground. This material was inexpensive and readily available. However, wood often is not durable, especially in the ground, and may quickly degrade due to weather, insects and other natural forces. As the wood degrades, wood looses supporting properties, eventually offering no support whatsoever to the sidewall. Moreover, decking or other heavy material placed about the perimeter of the completed pool required continued support throughout the life of the pool. In addition, the upright supports needed to be sprayed with fiberglass from the rear, creating the over-excavation problem described above.
The present invention introduces vertical supports specifically designed for the swimming pool. The vertical supports are easy to install and offer superior supporting qualities, and do not degrade. Moreover, the sidewall is reinforced further so that decking or other weighty material placed about the periphery of the pool is easily supported. In addition, no rear spraying, and therefore no over-excavation is required. These improvements result in lower labor and material costs, and a higher quality product.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art devices and provides a new apparatus and method of making a swimming pool of lower cost with the reliability and durability commensurate with a cementitious pool.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swimming pool apparatus wherein the materials of construction do not limited the size or shape of the swimming pools.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus wherein the sidewall allows the sprayed interior coating to adhere readily, thereby requiring no additional devices for mechanically affixing interior coating to sidewall.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus wherein the sidewall provides a mechanical strength equivalent to a cementitious pool without additional mechanical reinforcement.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus which minimizes the amount of excavation required during construction.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus comprising no components which will readily degrade, even under adverse conditions.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved swimming pool apparatus which can readily support decking or other weighty material placed about the periphery of the pool.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.